Murder. Suspense. Mystery. The most famous train in the world. And a rather well kept moustache. It can only be Agatha Christies Poirot.
To celebrate the release of Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express on the 3rd of November, I was lucky enough to be invited to Torquay in the South West of England to see the town that Agatha Christie called home for most of her life. To visit the home she loved and shared with her husband, Archaeologist, Max Mallowan. To walk the streets she grew up in. And to meet her great-grandson, the man now chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd who is helping bring The Murder on the Orient Express into the 21st century.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS HITS THE WIDE SCREEN
Known as the Queen of Crime, almost everyone can say they know the name Agatha Christie. Her books have been sold for almost a hundred years sold all over the world in countless languages by men, women, and children. From her most famous characters Miss Marple and Poirot who have been reinterpreted many times on the small screen and big alike to the mousetrap – the longest-running west end show, her success has thrilled audiences and her murders have had them on the edge of their seats.
Arguably her most famous work, Murder on the Orient Express is the story of murder confined to one carriage on the world-famous train that has to be solved by the world-famous detective Hercule Poirot. This story has been interpreted three times, one in 1974 with the film starring Albert Finney, then the 2001 television film starring Alfred Molina, and then the 2010 David Suchet version. The film set to be released on the 3rd of November will star and be directed by Kenneth Branagh as Poirot, and a star cast including Dame Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Derek Jacob and many more.
AGATHA CHRISTIE – THE WOMAN BEHIND THE NAME
So who was this woman, this Agatha Christie? These days any photos of Agatha seem to be of an older woman sitting behind a type writer surrounded by dusty old books. Is that who she was? Some old writer? Far from it. A writer takes inspiration from their own life for their writing and it was the same for Agatha. Murder on the Orient Express was taken from Agatha’s life as she travelled on the Orient Express to Baghdad. Death on the Nile was taken from Agatha’s holidays to Cairo and beyond. Murder in Mesopotamia came from Agatha’s life of archaeology in modern Iraq. For you see Agatha was quite the adventurer traveller.
Born in Torquay in 1890 in her family home of Ashfield, Agatha had a happy childhood. A very imaginative child who liked to create characters and stories in her head with her play things. Her older brother and sister were of a considerable age older than herself so she kept herself active with imaginary friends and fun. It was perhaps these foundations, not even seeds but the soil that her stories might grow from in the future. As a child her father’s money had been slowly vanishing with time so the family had to rent out Ashfield so they could move to France where it was much cheaper to live. This was Agatha’s first introduction to travel and adventure, on Agatha’s Autobiography she remembers a time when in the hotel they stayed in Agatha and her friends were locked in a closet by the staff to stop them causing bother, unbeknownst to the staff there was an open window in this closet that led to the roof… out came Agatha and her friends who then proceeded to march along the edge of the roof panicking the guests and her mother. Fearless. Upon returning to England and Ashfield Agatha continued her happy childhood until her Father passed away, this meant her family no longer has the income it once had though Agatha would receive £100 a year, this income which Agatha saw as rather small for the time would affect her early adult years. A requirement to find additional funds through her writing. It was Agatha’s sister Madge that placed the seeds of a murder mystery into Agatha’s mind. According to Agatha’s Autobiography, one day Madge bet Agatha she wouldn’t be able to write a murder mystery, well Agatha wouldn’t stand for that and in the back of her mind swore that one day she would win that bet, there that seed sat for years sprouting to become Hercule Poirot. Agatha was a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and felt she needed a name as grand as Sherlock, initially Hercules was on her mind but realised another pronunciation of the name would be better, Hercule. You see during the First World War there was a large influx of Belgium refugees, Agatha took an interest in these people who kept to themselves and the locals didn’t trust them. It was these ideas that combined to create one of the most famous detectives in the world. I, of course, won’t go into the entire history of Agatha Christie’s life as it is long and full of stories but as you can see even from her early years it was all waiting to escape onto the world.
A MURDER MYSTERY AT THE GRAND HOTEL TORQUAY
‘Occupies without doubt the best and most convenient position’ claimed The Grand Hotel in Torquay. With its perfect view of the Tor Bay and Torquay, it was here that my journey into the life of Agatha Christie began. Positioned conveniently right across from the Torquay railway station and directly on the seafront, the Grand Hotel was also the beginning of a part of Agatha Christie’s life, as it was here that Agatha spent her first night as a married woman on her honeymoon with her new husband Archibald “Archie” Christie. Built in 1881 with 12 rooms the hotel has over the years expanded to hold 132 rooms. From the large lounge area the entire bay can be seen and at night the lights of Torquay are a stunning view. With a combination of Victorian architecture, Art deco style and modern amenities the hotel is a great place to stay, eat out or enjoy a murder mystery. I had the privilege to experience a murder mystery dinner whilst staying at the hotel and can’t recommend it enough. Performed by the Candlelight theatre company it’s a mixture of drama, comedy, mystery and great food. The actors fully commit and interact with all the guests really bringing you into the scene. A three course meal is provided along with drama which after the main courses leads to death, it is then up to the guests to attempt to question all the suspects as to determine the killer (a hint – it’s definitely not the policeman no matter how much one guest was determined to prove it was). The meal and hotel really puts you into an Agatha Christie novel and if you are lucky you may even be able to get the Agatha Christie suite.
EXPLORING TORQUAY ON THE TRAIL OF AGATHA CHRISTIE
As Agatha grew up and lived in Torquay there are many locations that have history with her. I joined a tour group that visits many of these locations and is very much worthwhile as the tour guides are very knowledgeable and obviously have a passion for Agatha Christie and Torquay history. A few locations of note:
TORQUAY HOSPITAL
It was here that Agatha took on her first ‘career’ as a nurse. When the First World War broke out Agatha volunteered to assist in a nursing capacity. She took on the role of cleaning bedpans, tidying up bandages and shining the brass, it wasn’t until after she was off work for a couple of weeks with a bad case of flu that she was told she was to be transferred to a new department – the dispensary. It was here that Agatha would work with drugs, ointments, poisons and creepy chemists. Agatha was very efficient with her work and so found she had lots of spare time on her hand and surrounded by the vials of poisons some ideas began to form. As mentioned before the influx of refugees from Belgium formed the idea of a character – Poirot, and now the poisons form a cause of death, her first novel was taking shape – The Mysterious Affair at Styles. An interesting character she worked with was an infamous Mr P. He was a chemist who carried a small amount of curare (a deadly South American arrow poison) in his pocket, when asked why he carried such deadly poison in his pocket he responded “he liked the feeling of power in his hands”.
BEACON COVE
Agatha was always a big fan of swimming, a strong swimmer who enjoyed getting into the sea whenever she could. In Torquay, now behind the Living Coast enclosure, is a small cove down a little footpath. Empty when I visited it but once was full of woman and changing wagons, as this was the Ladies only bathing beach of Torquay. It was here that Agatha would come to enjoy swimming in the sea and almost drowning in the sea. Beaches back then weren’t like beaches nowadays. Woman certainly didn’t wear skimpy bikinis and men were to be separated from woman folk. The beach would have had a line of wagons that the women would enter on one side, the wagon was then rolled into the sea while the occupier would try their best to change from there large frock to a full body swimming outfit that covered from chin to toes. Once the wagon had been lowered to a certain depth into the sea the women would then exit through a door on the opposite side from the entrance allowing them to enter the sea without being seen thus keeping their dignity and modesty intact. Once they were done with their swim the process would be done in reverse. I mentioned drowning as Agatha once took her nephew who was young enough to get onto the beach without much notice or complaint swimming. There was a raft that swimmers used to swim to just off the beach and Agatha decided to take her nephew on her back to get to the platform. Unfortunately it was a rather strong current day and her nephew was rather excited, the child pushed his increasingly tired aunt under the surf preventing her from getting her breath. She did blackout but was luckily rescued by the rather old looking man that usually lowers the wagons into the sea. A very lucky escape. Something of interest was that though the cove was a ladies only beach, just above the cove almost strategically placed was one of the local gentlemen’s club with large windows facing a supposedly private cove.
THE PAVILION
Built in 1912 in an effort to revitalise Torquay, which was said to be getting ‘duller and duller by the year’, the Pavilion is an art nouveau-style theatre/winter garden. Once full of exotic plants and a place of music and plays, it was here that Agatha Miller would take her first step to becoming Agatha Christie. Agatha had met Archibald Christie at a ball in her teen years, her friend her told her to look out for Archibald as he was a good dancer. Obviously, the same friend had told Archibald to look out for Agatha and when they met on the dance floor Archibald impressed with his moves. Over the coming weeks Archibald paid quite a few visits to Agatha’s home, coming up with different excuses to see her, and on one occasion he invited her to see a Wagner concert that was playing in the Pavilion. An emotionally charged concert full of sex and adultery, it may have effected Archibald in a deep way, as when Archibald walked Agatha back home and they enter the school room he proclaimed his love for her and that she must marry him. They debated over the matter for some time before Archibald left not knowing if she had accepted but to Agatha, there was no doubt, it would be so. The Pavilion always seemed to be found on the front of Torquay postcards, surrounded by its gardens and harbour next door, perhaps it isn’t what it once was when it was full of music and flowers but it is still an iconic part of Torquay’s front.
PRINCESS PIER
Shooting out from Torquay at an angle that now protects a large marina is the Princess Pier. No seaside resort in Britain is complete without a Victorian pier. Most these days though are covered in arcades or fairground rides but Torquay’s Princess Pier keeps it simple. Looking much like it did when Agatha used to roller skate down these boards, it’s perfect for taking a stroll down or fish of the end. With its white seating all the way down its length and its period lighting the pier is perfect for getting a breath of fresh sea air. These days I doubt there are many roller skaters on the pier but entertainment can be found at the bottom of the pier with the Princess theatre and Pier restaurant.
POISON GARDEN AT THE TORRE ABBEY MUSEUM
Torre Abbey was built in 1196 as a monastery, it is now one of the best preserved medieval monasteries in Devon and Cornwall. There is no direct relationship with Agatha Christie, though she may have visited the gardens or monastery at some point in her life, there now is a garden dedicated to some of the poisons used in her books. The gardener for the site is incredibly knowledgeable about the plants grown in the garden and gives a great talk about poison cultivation and use. Something not to miss if you are interested in seeing in person the preferred method of murder for Agatha Christie.
THE ONLY TRACE OF ASHFIELD HOUSE – AGATHA CHRISTIE’S BIRTHPLACE
There isn’t much to be seen of Ashfield these days, the home where Agatha grew up. The place where she always considered her home. The house in which her mother had lived for almost the entirety of Agatha’s life. On Barton Road near the top of the hill, beside a layby, hidden underneath some bushes lies the only marker that once lived at this location one of the most famous women in the world. A blue plaque commemorating the site of Ashfield, birthplace of Agatha Christie. From old photographs and Agatha autobiography, it is easy to imagine the one large white house that sat at this location. It had such a deep place in Agatha’s heart that almost half of her autobiography seems to be based here. These days there are some flats on the site but you can at least see the view that Agatha once had over Tor Bay out to sea.
GREENWAY – AGATHA CHRISTIE’S DREAM HOME
In 1938 Agatha and her second husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan, were visiting Ashfield when in Country Life magazine she saw an advertisement for a house for sale. This house she had known since childhood and decided to pay it a visit with Max. Afterwards, on the way home Agatha and Max were talking about the house when she described it as “incredibly cheap, it’s got 39 acres. It doesn’t look in bad condition…” well to her surprise Max responded, “Why don’t you buy it?” To further surprise Agatha learned she had misheard the price of the house and it wasn’t In fact £16000 but £6000, well she had to have it and after a chat with her architect friend Guildford Bell, it was in her possession 2 months later. Agatha now had her ‘dream holiday home’ – Greenway. Greenway really was the perfect holiday home, a hub of family fun, Agatha always spend Christmas, birthdays, spring and summer at the house. With family activities in the Dining room, reading and writing in the Drawing room and cricket, tennis and croquet outside, Greenway was a place to socialise with friends and bring the family together.
GETTING TO GREENWAY HOUSE
These days even getting to Greenway is an adventure. We started off catching a bus to Paignton train station where our group would be joining a steam train to Kingswear. This journey takes about 30 minutes and gives you a slight feeling of being in Murder on the Orient Express. Though not as grand as the Orient, it does smell and sound similar to those old journeys. The view as you travel along the coast and through the forests are breathtaking and really makes you understand why Agatha would choose this area to visit on holidays. Once at Kingswear we joined a small ferry which takes its passengers over to Dartmouth to join another ferry that will go all the way to Greenway. Sailing up the river Dart you may catch sight of seals or you can enjoy the view of being surrounded by forest with peeking houses. Greenway isn’t the easiest to spot so be sure to keep eyes open. After about 20minutes a dock will appear in the distance near a boathouse – the dock boathouse are both part of the Greenway estate and it will be here that the ferry berths and guests begin their steep trek up to Greenway. and You enter the estate from behind, where there is a National Trust centre and shop, but once you gain entrance you should walk all the way around to the front of the house, from here you can see Greenways true beauty. It sits perfectly looking over the River Dart surrounded by forest land and a lawn out front. With its white walls and large windows looking over the valley you can really see how Agatha fell for this house.
THE ENTRANCE HALL
The entrance hall is where Agatha and Max would have welcomed family and guests and to this day is still where visitors start their tours of the house. It hasn’t changed much since the days of Agatha and as soon as you enter it feels like a lived-in home. Agatha loved collecting, a hobby she picked up from her grandparents, and on every countertop and in every cupboard can be found interesting items. The walls are covered in portraits of family members, from her grandparents, brother and sister to her childhood Nannie ‘Nursie’. Family was obviously important here and besides the staircase lies croquet sets, golf clubs, fishing rods and all manner of family activity equipment. One item of note is a brass-studded Zanzibar-type chest that would originally have been used for holding a woman’s dowry but now contains all the dress up clothes the family used to enjoy trying on.
THE MORNING ROOM
Originally used as a sitting room, this room has now been converted into a space for displaying the family’s growing collection. It contains a variety of different objects from pocket watches, snuff boxes and ceramics. Most of the items and furniture here are from Ashfield, Agatha’s childhood home, which she had saved before Ashfields demolishing. There is a portrait of Agatha when she was 4 years old, in this portrait she is slumped in a chair clutching her doll ‘Rosie’, it is here in this room you can find the actual ‘Rosie’ which survives to this day. Just don’t look away if you see her, you know how these ancient dolls get.
THE WINTER DINING ROOM
This room was used by Agatha’s Daughter and grandson, Rosalind and Mathew, for eating in winter. The room had direct access to the kitchen which allowed for food to be brought in piping hot as needed in winter. The room is now used for displaying larger china and glass collections. The floor to ceiling cupboards were perfect for display. An item of note is the large Chinese temple made from lead-glazed stoneware. Once housed outside the drawing room it was used for hiding Easter eggs in by the family. Also of note is Agatha’s Dame of the British Empire Award. Found by the National trust tucked away in the back of an old cupboard it now is framed proudly for all to see.
THE UPSTAIRS KITCHEN
The staircase leads to the first floor which is light from a clear glass window which Agatha had changed from its original coloured glass in 1938. Half way up the stairs in a niche is a seated Buddha from the 4th century that was discovered by Max on one of his digs. He left the Buddha to the British Museum as long as it was left at Greenway during Anthony’s lifetime, it is now lent long-term to Greenway still sitting on the plinth Max created for it. At the top of the stairs is a round table full of books, this was commissioned by Rosalind to hold the collection of her mother’s paperback editions. To this day it still houses them. Just off the landing is a small room, this contains the toilet. The mahogany seat from this toilet was one of the few items of luxury that Agatha insisted on taking on her archaeological expeditions with Max… At least she left the kitchen sink.
THE BEDROOM
With its perfect view over the garden and river, it is easy to see why Agatha chose this room to be her bedroom. It is also easy to see why Poirot made this his room in Dead Man’s Folly, the book which Agatha set here. The room hasn’t been changed much since Agatha stayed here with its mother-of-pearl inlaid chest, bought by Agatha in Damascus in 1929, and Max’s campaign bed that he used both during the war and on archaeological expeditions. The main bed in not Agatha’s though but a replacement for the original. The fire screens though were made by Agatha herself. The small room leading off Agatha’s bedroom is fitted with floor to ceiling wardrobes along its length. Some suitcases have been stacked as if to give the impression of a journey. Agatha always believed when preparing from an archaeological expedition archaeologists always packed the same way, first “they fill their suitcases to the brim with books. Then reluctantly take out a few books, and fill in the space thus obtained with shirt, pyjamas, socks etc.’
THE SITTING ROOM
This was once the bedroom and study for Max and later on became his writing room where he wrote notes for his various digs. It was changed into a sitting room by Rosalind and Anthony with sofas, and nowadays the side boards hold displays on some of Max’s expeditions. Connected to the sitting room is a small room with a beautiful view over the garden and the river, this was Max’s dressing room. This later became Rosalind’s archive room and a fax machine was moved in for use. This is how the room got its name. Fax Room.
THE LIBRARY
The most striking thing in the room is the frieze painted along the top of the room. It was painted during World War 2 by Lt Marshall Lee and depicts the journey of the 10th Flotilla’s journey from Key West in Florida all the way to Greenway where they would be stationed. Agatha obviously liked it enough to leave it once she had reclaimed Greenway after the war. The room also contains the majority of the 5000+ books found it Greenway ranging from local history, Buddhism to gardening and antiques. The books truly show the range of interests that the family had. This room always left an impression on Agatha’s grandson Mathew as it was always his favourite room.
THE INNER HALL AND LOBBY
Once the billiards room this area was now used for the family to get in and out of the garden. A lobby where wet clothes and boots could be hung up was created by Agatha and her architect friend. The inner hall is again full of items collected by Agatha’s family including a large ancient mobile phone Anthony used to use in the garden. The centre of the room is dominated by a table that incoming and outgoing mail would be stacked on, nowadays it’s stacked with Antony’s hats.
THE DINING ROOM
This room was used by the family for more formal dinners it was here that the butler would be used for serving out meals. This dining room was used for Agatha’s 60th, 70th and 80th birthday celebrations. You can imagine the grand meals the family would have had here, sitting around the large mahogany table. As you walk into the room holding the door open is a cobra with a cork stuck into its sharp tongue, this isn’t some sort of elaborate bottle opener, Agatha used to find it would rip her stocking as she passed through the door so to solve the problem she jammed a cork in it. Agatha’s favourite meal was lobster and perhaps to honour this there can be found a ceramic dish sitting on a side board with a lobster perched.
THE GARDENS OF GREENWAY HOUSE
Thus the tour of the inside of Greenway was complete but the gardens of Greenway are large and flowers and trees of all sorts can be found. Of note is a large Campbell’s magnolia planted by Max in 1938 beside the tennis court, it would take 20 years before it would produce any flowers. Max used to send letter homes from his trips away asking how it was progressing. The fernery in its shaded area and cooling effect from the fountain could trick you into thinking you were in some mystical wood, this is also where you would find the pet cemetery. Gravestones line along one ridge overlooking the fountain all inscribed with names of beloved dogs. From the Dahlia borders to the Hydrangea walk the variety of flowers and its warm climate, it really makes Greenway gardens somewhere worth a visit for the horticulturally inclined.
THE BOAT HOUSE
Also found on the Greenway estate is the boathouse and battery. The boathouse interestingly was used as a plunge pool where people could come and ‘take the waters’. In days past it was believed bathing in seawater could heal ailments and this boathouse was perfect for that. It had the plunge pool down below while up above was a saloon with fireplaces that could be used for getting warmed up and dried after the big plunge. In Agatha’s time, this area was used for entertaining guests and she held many BBQs here. Not too far from here was one of Agatha and Max’s favourite locations the battery. A flat bit of fort overlooking the river where one could sit and watch the boats sail by. Perhaps once used for defence of the river Dart but now a place to sit back and relax, maybe even read about a murder, some suspense, a mystery, the most famous train in the world and a rather well-kept moustache.
JAMES PRICHARD – AGATHA CHRISTIE’S GREAT GRANDSON
Whilst visiting Greenway I had the privilege of meeting James Prichard, the great-grandson of Agatha Christie. Now the CEO of Agatha Christie Ltd, I had an opportunity to chat with the new head and learn about the new directions he was hoping to take the company. He spoke of how he didn’t want to change an already flourishing franchise but wanted to bring it to even more people. That’s why he is very excited about the new interpretation of Murder on the Orient Express. Getting to know about James from his first stealing a copy of one of his great grandmothers books before reading it and returning it by sunrise so no one knew, to his passion for working with a cast that really have an interest for Agatha Christie, and it was easy to see he loves his great grandmother’s works. He also mentioned that there will be more television related to Agatha’s working coming up soon and if the film is successful it may develop into a series of films. Being a huge Agatha Christie fan myself I look forward to all these developments in the future.
FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT AGATHA CHRISTIE’S DEVON
Murder on the Orient Express is in cinemas 3rd November
We would like to thank 20th Century Fox for hosting us on this press trip to Devon, on the trail of Agatha Christie.
Please Note: Some of the pictures in this article have kindly been provided by the National Trust.
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I was a huge fan of Agatha Christie and her books when I was younger. I really enjoyed reading about her own story and the places you visited around Tourquay. I will be keeping my eye out for the film this month
Oh wow what an incredible place and like you said even the journey there was an adventure. It must have been great fun to be part of the murder mystery, I’ve always fancied having a go at being a detective! Cannot wait to watch the movie;)
We were recently near Torquay and now I wished we’d ventured in! I love a murder mystery, so what fun you got to be part of one. I am very excited about the new film, I loved the original.
That is such a wonderful tour of her life, it sounds amazing. She was such an inspirational writer! Will keep an eye out for the film too! 🙂
When you visit a destination and see if through the eyes of an author, it always seems to add an extra dimension. This sounds like an amazing trip. And so many fascinating facts. I loved the bit about the man who carried poison in his pocket – really scary!
Wow I have learnt a lot about Agatha Christie from this write-up. It seems like they want all out to make this press trip really fascinating.
What an interesting experience! Must be a lot of fun to visit all these places and to meet the grandson. I visited orient express station in istanbul. what a surreal experience.
I’ve only ever had a short visit of only a few hours in Torquay so it’s great to read this to find out more about the town and Agatha Christie herself. How brilliant you were able to be part of a Murder Mystery too. I’ll have to keep an eye out for the film – I’ve seen a trailer and can’t get over Kenneth Branagh’s huge moustache!